Steven L Shoen

I was very unhappy with my tummy after losing a lot of weight I had a lot of extra skin and fat. I am post op day 6 and up and around. I went out yesterday shopping briefly and no problems today. I still have my 1 drain in, but I am so happy with my results. Dr. Steven Shoen is an Amazing Board Certified PS.

Excellent! First had a consultation with a well known and highly recommended plastic surgeon in New Brunswick. He first had me try on different breast sizes to see what size I wanted to go with. Since this was cancer related, it wasn't a fun "wahoo, let's get bigger boobs" type visit, I thought that was odd--anyway, he wanted to do the latisamiss flap (sp) that would result in significant scars on my back. Turned out that he was not part of my insurance, so I found one who was-- Dr. Shoen was my next visit. The whole staff was GREAT! Professional and caring. I went in and he explained how the surgery would be--he had no intentions of taking skin from that back--no need, he said--just have to remove the breast and there would be a scar there but they would be able to stretch the skin enough to cover the expander. Surgery was a BREEZE (had the breast surgeon remove the breast, then Shoen came in to do the reconstruction and put the expander in. Had to go back weekly for expander injections and then implants 3 months later. Had to wait for that to settle, then I went in for my nipple reconstruction. He pinched the skin to make my nipple and then did a skin graft from inside my leg for the areola. No tattoos. Very happy with his work. He is meticulous and professional and every now and then you get a glimpse of his dry sense of humor. Side note--due to reconstruction, I was able to go up in size at my insurance's expense. I was 36. I wish I would have gotten implants when I was younger. What a difference. I would trust him for any plastic surgery.

I have had big breasts since the age of 13 and I always wanted to have a reduction but put it off for many years because I was afraid to move forward with it. As I got older, my breasts seemed to get bigger and I was having allot of neck, back and shoulder pain when I did something as simple as standing at the sink washing dishes. So I thought this is my year to do something about it and at age 57 I started to look for a good suregon close to my home and when I found one I scheduled the surgery August of this year. My insurance covered the surgery as it was found to be medically necessary. I got an infection in the right breast and had to go back into surgery 3 weeks later in September to have the infection cleaned out. Because of this I was out of work for 7 weeks on STD. I have to say the pain was minimal and I was able to move my arms. As long as you follow your doctors instructions one going through this will be fine. I love my surgeon, he is a wonderful doctor with a great bedside manner. Anyway, I can't tell you how much better I feel and look. I was taken from a DDD cup to a C small D and I love my new breasts. My neck, back and sholder pain are symptoms of the past. I am so happy that I went forward with this surgery!

I chose Dr. Shoen (Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Associates, L.L.C. Metchen and Monroe Township, New Jersey) as he was not just looking to immediately schedule me for surgery, has over 20 years of experience, has various awards and is a clinical assistant professor of surgery at UMDNJ and he was an in-network Aetna provider. I interviewed other surgeons and they wanted me to book my surgery that day and did not ask me about my Factor V Leiden (genetic blood clotting disorder) and if my hematologist approved of my requested surgery. I felt that Dr. Shoen wanted the best outcome for my surgical needs and provided me with realistic expectations for my procedure. He also was on other boards with my hematologist and was going to see him the day after my consultation. My hematologist also spoke highly of Dr. Shoen when I was getting my letter of medical clearance.
Also, the other surgical coordinators and surgeons told me that Aetna NEVER approves panniculectomy claims so that they would not even try to submit one on my behalf. It took a little coaxing on my part, but Dr. Shoen's office submitted my claim and I was approved by Aetna for coverage of my panniculectomy on my first submission. Dr. Shoen's office submitted pictures of my extremely loose and low hanging skin (below pubis) and subsequent rash caused by the skin fold irritation. Please note that the code for panniculectomy, 15830, asks for the following:
Panniculus hangs below level of pubis, documented by photographs; and
The medical records document that the panniculus causes chronic intertrigo (dermatitis occurring on opposed surfaces of the skin, skin irritation, infection or chafing) that consistently recurs over 3 months while receiving appropriate medical therapy (e.g., oral or topical prescription medication), or remains refractory to appropriate medical therapy over a period of 3 months; and
Photographs with pannus lifted to document presence of intertrigo.
While Dr. Shoen's office submitted photos to Aetna, I started my documented treatment for my rash a few days after my visit with Dr. Shoen with my primary care physician. My PCP gave me a prescription for the rash and I scheduled follow ups with him for every month for 3 months so I would have the required documentation for approval via the Aetna code. I was anticipating that I would have to wait until the required 3 months of rash documentation past before I would be approved for the procedure. However, as I was approved before I even went for my one month follow up visit with my PCP.
I wanted to post about this as I didn't see anything about Aetna approving a panniculectomy in the past few years when I was doing my research and was a bit disheartened. I am still paying out of pocket for the TT and liposuction (a little over $7,000), I think that having the coverage lowers the cost enough to try for approval. Best of luck to all hoping for Aetna approval of a panniculectomy in 2017.